Tachycardia Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What is Tachycardia?

Tachycardia is a common type of heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia) in which the heart beats faster than normal while at rest.
It’s normal for your heart rate to rise during exercise or as a physiological response to stress, trauma or illness (sinus tachycardia). But in tachycardia , the heart beats faster than normal in the upper or lower chambers of the heart or both while at rest. Your heart rate is controlled by electrical signals sent across heart tissues. Tachycardia occurs when an abnormality in the heart produces rapid electrical signals that quicken the heart rate, which is normally about 60 to 100 beats a minute at rest.

Causes of Tachycardia

The following situations, conditions and illnesses are possible causes:

A reaction to certain medications
Congenital (present at birth) electrical pathway abnormalities in the heart
Congenital abnormalities of the heart
Consuming too much alcohol
Consumption of cocaine and some other recreational drugs
Electrolyte imbalance
Heart disease which has resulted in poor blood supply and damage to heart tissues, including coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis), heart valve disease, heart failure, heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), tumors, or infections.
Hypertension
Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland)
Smoking
Certain lung diseases

Symptoms of Tachycardia

When your heart is beating too fast, it may not pump blood effectively to the rest of your body. This can deprive your organs and tissues of oxygen and can cause the following tachycardia-related symptoms:

Shortness of breath
Lightheadedness
Rapid pulse rate
Heart palpitations — a racing, uncomfortable or irregular heartbeat or a sensation of “flopping” in the chest
Chest pain
Fainting (syncope)

Diagnosis of Tachycardia

A thorough physical exam, medical history and testing is required to diagnose tachycardia.

Several heart tests also may be necessary to diagnose tachycardia.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Electrocardiogram
Cardiac event monitor

Holter monitor.
Event monitor

Electrophysiological test
Cardiac imaging
Echocardiogram
Coronary angiogram

Types of cardiac imaging used to diagnose tachycardia include:

Echocardiogram (echo).
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Computerized tomography (CT).
Coronary angiogram.
Chest X-ray. .
Stress Test
Tilt table test

Treatment of Tachycardia

There are several treatment options available for people who experience tachycardia. Tachycardia can be ventricular (in the lower chambers of the heart) or atrial (in the upper chambers of the heart). Your heart doctor will determine the treatment that’s best for your condition.

VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA TREATMENTS